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Robert Haldane
Robert Haldane (1764–1842) was a Scottish preacher, theologian, and philanthropist whose ministry significantly shaped evangelical Christianity in Scotland and beyond during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Born on February 28, 1764, in London, England, he was the eldest son of James Haldane of Airthrey and Katherine Duncan, part of a prominent Scottish family. Orphaned by age ten, he was raised by his grandmother, Lady Lundie, and uncles, attending Dundee Grammar School, the Royal High School in Edinburgh, and briefly the University of Edinburgh. At 16, he joined the Royal Navy, serving under his uncle Adam Duncan on HMS Monarch and later HMS Foudroyant during the American Revolutionary War, distinguishing himself in combat before retiring in 1783 after the Treaty of Paris. Converted in 1795 amid the French Revolution’s tumult, influenced by David Bogue of Gosport, Haldane dedicated his life and fortune to spreading the gospel. In 1785, he married Katherine Cochrane Oswald, with whom he had one daughter, Margaret. Haldane’s preaching career emerged from his wealth and evangelical zeal, though he was never formally ordained. After selling his Airthrey estate in 1798, he funded the construction of preaching tabernacles, like the Circus Church in Edinburgh, and established seminaries to train itinerant preachers, countering the Moderate dominance in the Church of Scotland. With his brother James, he planted 85 independent churches across Scotland and Ireland, practicing baptism by immersion and congregational governance, influenced by thinkers like John Glas and Robert Sandeman. His most impactful ministry came in 1816–1819, when he traveled to Geneva and Montauban, sparking a revival among theological students—including César Malan and Frédéric Monod—through his expositions of Romans, later published as Commentaire sur l'Épître aux Romains (1819). A prolific writer, his works like The Evidence and Authority of Divine Revelation (1816) and Exposition of the Epistle to the Romans bolstered evangelical theology. Haldane died on December 12, 1842, in Edinburgh, buried in Glasgow Cathedral’s Oswald family plot, leaving a legacy as a preacher whose resources and conviction fueled a widespread gospel movement, despite resistance from established churches.
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Robert Haldane delves into the profound concept of God's righteousness being fulfilled in believers who walk in the Spirit, contrasting the condemnation of Jesus by the Father to save His enemies with the incomprehensible wisdom, goodness, and mercies of God. The sermon explores the unfathomable love that led Jesus to humble Himself and take on the sins of humanity, a display that even angels marvel at. Additionally, it highlights the justice of God in condemning sin in His Son, surpassing the act of creation by punishing sins to the utmost in Jesus Christ.
Love and Justice
"That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit" (Rom. 8:4). In all this we see the Father assuming the place of judge against His Son, in order to become the Father of those who were His enemies. The Father condemns the Son of His love, that He may absolve the children of wrath. If we inquire into the cause that moved God to save us by such means, what can we say but that it proceeded from His incomprehensible wisdom, His ineffable goodness, and the unfathomable depth of His mercies? For what was there in man that could induce the Creator to act in this manner, since He saw nothing in him, after his rebellion by sin, but what was hateful and offensive? And what was it but His love that passeth knowledge which induced the only-begotten Son of God to take the form of a servant, to humble Himself even to the death of the cross, and to submit to be despised and rejected of men? These are the things into which the angels desire to look. But besides the love of God, we see the wonderful display of His justice in condemning sin in His Son, rather than allowing it to go unpunished. In this assuredly the work of redemption surpasses that of creation. In creation God had made nothing that was not good, and nothing especially on which He could exercise the rigour of His justice; but here He punishes our sins to the utmost in Jesus Christ. It may be inquired if, when God condemned sin in His Son, we are to understand this of God the Father, so as to exclude the Son; or if we can say that God the Son also condemned sin in Himself. This can undoubtedly be affirmed; for in the Father and the Son there is only one will and one regard for justice; so that, as it was the will of the Father to require satisfaction for sin from the Son, it was also the will of the Son to humble Himself, and to condemn sin in Himself. We must, however, distinguish between Jesus Christ considered as God, and as our Surety and Mediator. As God, He condemns and punishes sin; as Mediator, He is Himself condemned and punished for sin.
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Robert Haldane (1764–1842) was a Scottish preacher, theologian, and philanthropist whose ministry significantly shaped evangelical Christianity in Scotland and beyond during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Born on February 28, 1764, in London, England, he was the eldest son of James Haldane of Airthrey and Katherine Duncan, part of a prominent Scottish family. Orphaned by age ten, he was raised by his grandmother, Lady Lundie, and uncles, attending Dundee Grammar School, the Royal High School in Edinburgh, and briefly the University of Edinburgh. At 16, he joined the Royal Navy, serving under his uncle Adam Duncan on HMS Monarch and later HMS Foudroyant during the American Revolutionary War, distinguishing himself in combat before retiring in 1783 after the Treaty of Paris. Converted in 1795 amid the French Revolution’s tumult, influenced by David Bogue of Gosport, Haldane dedicated his life and fortune to spreading the gospel. In 1785, he married Katherine Cochrane Oswald, with whom he had one daughter, Margaret. Haldane’s preaching career emerged from his wealth and evangelical zeal, though he was never formally ordained. After selling his Airthrey estate in 1798, he funded the construction of preaching tabernacles, like the Circus Church in Edinburgh, and established seminaries to train itinerant preachers, countering the Moderate dominance in the Church of Scotland. With his brother James, he planted 85 independent churches across Scotland and Ireland, practicing baptism by immersion and congregational governance, influenced by thinkers like John Glas and Robert Sandeman. His most impactful ministry came in 1816–1819, when he traveled to Geneva and Montauban, sparking a revival among theological students—including César Malan and Frédéric Monod—through his expositions of Romans, later published as Commentaire sur l'Épître aux Romains (1819). A prolific writer, his works like The Evidence and Authority of Divine Revelation (1816) and Exposition of the Epistle to the Romans bolstered evangelical theology. Haldane died on December 12, 1842, in Edinburgh, buried in Glasgow Cathedral’s Oswald family plot, leaving a legacy as a preacher whose resources and conviction fueled a widespread gospel movement, despite resistance from established churches.